Exclusive! Harish Kalyan on 'Isapde Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum', 50-day stint in Bigg Boss and his admiration for STRMar 19 (AZINS) After rising to fame through the Bigg Boss Tamil reality show, actor Harish Kalyan capitalized on it through the super-hit romance drama Pyaar Prema Kadhal, which won him a lot of fan following among youngsters. Harish co-starred with fellow Bigg Boss contestant Raiza Wilson and the film went to fetch both commercial and critical acclaim. Now, Harish Kalyan's new release Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum directed by Ranjith Jayakodi of Puriyaatha Puthir fame hit the cinemas last Friday.

Talking to DNA, Harish Kalyan said, "When Ranjit Jayakodi narrated me the story, I realized that I had great scope to prove my acting skills in the film. I decided to go for it. After playing soft characters so far, I thought this film would be perfect for my transformation as a hero since I play a rugged role. Youngsters will surely like the film like they did Pyaar Prema Kadhal."

He ponders for a while about his roles so far, from Sindhu Samaveli to Pyaar Prema Kadhal, and adds, "I've so far done only simple, innocent-looking roles in my career. In Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum, I've attempted to come out of my comfort zone and has performed an intense role. I have a mature character in the film. Ispade is a pretty serious film unlike the fun Pyaar Prema Kaadhal. I was quite overwhelmed by the reception from audiences for PPK. But, I was also cautious about working on a different film as my next project. That's how I opted for Ispade.."

Spilling more beans on his character in the film, Harish said, "I play a character who has anger management issues. Ispade.. is a character-driven film and will be quite contemporary. It talks about the modern day man-woman relationship. My role on the screen will be quite different from what I had done in Pyaar Prema Kadhal. It was a challenging role to perform and was mentally exhausting too to bring the character's facets alive on screen. There are different emotions in the film, especially in the second half, which is driven by a lot of conversations."

Asked about how the 50-day stint in Bigg Boss Tamil worked in his favor and provided him the much-needed reach among viewers, Harish recalls, "I was in talks to do two projects when I was approached for Bigg Boss. Although I was skeptical about entering the show, one of my friends constantly pushed me to participate saying that it will provide good scope and exposure for me in the industry. Then, I decided to give it a shot. It was quite a roller-coaster ride and an incredible experience. There was a lot of learnings and takeaways from the show. People started recognizing me, and I received an identity. And, then the success of Pyaar Prema Kadhal felt like a proper validation for my hard work."

Harish Kalyan's love for Simbu aka STR is a well-known fact. STR fans have been showering their love for Harish on social media platforms ever since the latter expressed his admiration for the former on various occasions. "STR is like a brother to me. He is one of my well-wishers and my mentor. He taught me how to groom my face. He corrected by body language too. He is currently learning martial arts for his next project," said Harish about STR on a concluding note.